The allotment has been looking after itself a bit this month, with less watering needed, thanks to the frequent showers and the lovely moisture retaining soil (unlike the horrible dust at home).
The harvests are coming in thick and fast. Mountains of blackcurrants, a sudden rush of early courgettes, dozens of beetroots, piles of French beans and bunches of sweet peas with the delicious scent of summer.
I've brought in the onions and the last of the garlic and there's a lot of weeding to be done. Then there will be space for the next things. I do need to put some serious hours in though. I've been spending more time at home writing lately, and of course it shows. The weeds are galloping about the place with gay abandon.
One of the things I didn't plant is this poppy.
It's appeared out of nowhere amongst the borlotti beans. I'm quite blown away by how such a pretty thing can just pop up. I shall leave it to seed and see if there are more next year.
I've often said that the plot isn't immaculate, but despite the limited time I put in, it's still amazingly productive and a very good place to be, especially right now in the height of summer. However weedy it may be, there's always something to bring home, and that makes it all worthwhile.
there,s nothing better than homegrown,your allotment looks great and the poppy may self seed, x
ReplyDeletethere,s nothing better than homegrown,your allotment looks great and the poppy may self seed, x
ReplyDeleteWonderful.. you can't beat home grown :o) That poppy is pretty, we've had a gorgeous fluffy pale pink one appear near our gooseberry bush.. I love natures little surprises :o) xx
ReplyDeleteLooks great! :-)
ReplyDeleteI gave a little plot in my garden but it is looking sad at the moment and not at all like your bursting with goodness patch. I would let the poppy self seed, but try to catch some seeds as well so that you can plant them where you want them as well
ReplyDeleteIt's great when all the fruit and vegetables are ready to harvest. Yours are a bit further on than ours. The poppy is lovely so you could let it seed where it is growing and could also scatter some of the seed a bit further afield.
ReplyDeleteAnd the calm and the sense of achievement will be just as good as the flowers are lovely and the food healthy. An antidote to the huge modern rush.
ReplyDeleteWe have been watering like mad - has someone built a dome over our area? The promised heavy rain ended up as moderate drizzle.
ReplyDeleteThe main task of an allotments is to provide fresh fruit and vegetables whether it is tidy or not so in that you succeed admirab;y
Wales, it's all in Wales. As are we.
DeleteCrikey, that rain! It toppled our magnificent fennel and knocked French beans off the stems. Your allotment is looking wonderful. You've obviously got this succession planting for produce thing licked. I'm still working it out. Lovely poppy.
ReplyDeleteIt really is looking good and the rewards are worth all the hard work. I love this time of year when the harvest is prolific.
ReplyDeleteYour allotment is looking fantastic and really productive too. I envy you your courgettes - mine failed to germinate; serves me right for trying to use old seeds - and I'm rather missing them. At least there's some advantage to all this rain we're having at the moment! xx
ReplyDeleteLovely to see the collage of your produce! The poppy looks beautiful too, I'm glad you will leave it to seed for next year. We have had lots of poppies this year and it has been wonderful to see the bees visiting them.
ReplyDeleteSarah x
So glad you are reaping the benefits of hours of work even though you say you don't do much to it. It looks wonderfully productive unlike my few gardening containers. Love the surprise flower.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Meredith
That poppy is such a beautiful surprise! What a wonderful thing to be able to go pick fruit or vegetables for a meal from your own little space. Hope you're having a great summer, CJ!
ReplyDeleteThe unexpected are sometimes the best...all looking good! ;) xxx
ReplyDeleteGlad that it is all going so well! I see a squash doing well already!! xx
ReplyDeleteDoesn't food you grow yourself just taste better? :-)
ReplyDeleteThe poppy is very pretty!
I'm so excited to read your allotment update. It's all looking really good. I'm thinking you'll have lots of fresh food to eat in just a few more weeks. That poppy is so interesting. I would have seen it and assumed it was a carnation! I hope you have a good week, CJ. :)
ReplyDeleteThe allotment is looking so nice and full! I don't quite have an allotment but I do have my little spinach, lettuce, brocolli and tomato patch and I love eating things from it!
ReplyDeleteIt looks great and it is soooo nice to have your own food to eat. Love that Poppy too. So pretty xx
ReplyDeleteWe were surprised by some pumpkins in our garden and they're already ready! I hope they last 'til Halloween! I've never had a blackcurrant before. I love the poppy! I've never seen that color.
ReplyDeleteYour comments and picture are great encouragement to me. Have just taken an a very over grown allotment up to your waist in weed/grass. This is the fourth week have cut down growth, put weed killer on and now done to dig for victory you might say have cleared a little patch and hope to get some Brussels in. just thought I would also let you know we are lucky our plot has a well.
ReplyDeleteWhaaaat just a random flower popped up? How sweet!!
ReplyDeleteThe allotment is really fantastic. That is definitely not a Californian poppy. hehe. It's very beautiful!
ReplyDeleteYour plot is looking really good, CJ. The poppy is beautiful too, as are the sweet peas and that pumpkin looks promising xx
ReplyDeleteYour plot is weedy because you have a full, busy and active life and that's no bad thing. And I'm glad to hear you've been doing some writing, I know this is something you've been wanting to spend more time on. That poppy is stunning. It's like the allotment is saying to you: you're doing a good job, have a sticker. xx
ReplyDeleteA most enjoyable post. I think that allotments generally look a bit tatty at this time of year but that doesn't matter as we're now harvesting lots of things. That's a lovely 'raspberry ripple' poppy. Flighty xx
ReplyDeletelooks wonderful. my veg bed in the garden in full of poppies, they grow much better than my vegetables..........
ReplyDelete